HARRISONBURG, Va. -
The Villanova Women's Soccer team fell in a back-and-forth battle at James Madison 3-2 on Friday evening in Harrisonburg, Va. Sophomore Reanna Marino (Massapequa, N.Y.) and freshman Katie Martin (Dallas, Texas) notched goals for Villanova and knotted the game at 2-2, but a late-game score by the Dukes pushed the hosts to the victory.

With the loss, Villanova falls to 1-2-2 on the year while JMU improves to 3-2-0.

The Dukes got off to an early start in the opening minutes of the contest when Becky Sparks found an open Ashley Herndon and finished to the bottom left of the net to take a 1-0 advantage at the 6:17 mark. The Dukes maintained their composure throughout the first half and connected in the closing seconds of thestanza when Rachel Ivey finished a cross from Katie Hyland to put James Madison up 2-0 on Villanova going into intermission.

At the half, James Madison owned an 11-3 advantage in shots and a 3-1 lead in corners after the first 45 minutes of action.

The Wildcats began to find their footing coming out of the locker room with sophomore Christina Camassa (Freehold, N.J.) ratcheting off two good looks which forced JMU keeper Ellen Forrest to make a save. In the 51st minute, the Wildcats earned their second corner of the contest which proved to be a spark for the visitors. Junior Caitlin Forte (Selbyville, Del.) served a ball from 30 yards out while Martin connected for the finish as the Wildcats closed the JMU lead to 2-1.

Just over 20 minutes later, Marino notched the game-tying score from a Martin serve to even the contest at 2-2, but the Dukes continued to fight. At the 76:37 mark, Lauren Wilson crossed a ball to Hyland and finished into the top right corner for the score and the lead at 3-2.

The goal would prove to be the game-winner as neither team found another opportunity in the closing minutes.

Defensively, senior goalkeeper Jami Kranich (Hamden, Conn.) tallied four saves in the defeat while JMU's Ellen Forrest made two stops for the win.

Villanova will be back in action on Sunday, September 8th when they host the University of Richmond at West Campus Soccer Complex. Game time is slated for 1 p.m.